ok…. I don't give horse hokey about who is a CPA, or got their MBA or what.

It's about the reality of a work force, and the fact that this company has a super rare thing, multi year, return employees with experience.

Wandering around with a butcher's cleaver and a I know better than you attitude is going to do one thing.

supply all your competitors with your wonderfully experience employees, and it will take your nice clean CPA hands , and stick them in the mud as you become a solo operation.

Before you start chopping through your company like a food processor, spend a little time talking to OTHER company owners and become aware of what the issues THEY deal with are, and how difficult of a time THEY have turning a profit.

Additionally, why said employee pay and benefits are the problem?

Just because the company is losing money, doesn't mean payroll is the issue.

You said yourself the parents took their hands off several years back and stuff went to pot.

Equipment? Efficiency? Materials? All places to look.

I don't see anything wrong with a $20/hr foreman who can't drive.
Is he solo?
No he's a foreman.
Is he a driver?
Obviously not.
So why is the Driver's license part of his job description?
It never has been, why is it now?

Sounds like you are judging the guy for things going on in his own personal life.

You pay him to landscape, doesn't require a DL.
In fact, On the way to jobs, I prefer to have a lead laborer drive.
That way If I need to communicate with the Foreman, he's not driving distracted.
He can be doing paperwork, or ordering materials or all sorts of things.

In the military, do you think the senior most man is the driver?
Nope.
That's low man on the totem pole position.

Same thing in the corporate world.

Where else in business do you see a driver being the important high paid guy?

You need to rate the employees based on what they do, how they do it, and how efficient they are.
Does this guy make you money?
Does he not make you money.

But all that takes time to gather data.

I didn't see, does your company offer insurance?

If not look into offering insurance through the company in lieu of gobs of vacation time and OT.
Obummercare tax breaks could be a great thing for you at 25 employees.

Take away PTO and guaranteed OT and give them insurance through the company.
Then take the tax breaks from the government for doing so.
Could open up a give and take that adds to your bottom line.

I bet a lot of your employees will end up paying penalties at the end of the year if they don't have insurance, so if you take something away and give something back, you will get a lot less resistance.

Just tell them you are restructuring the benefits package "because of changes the obama administration has made that effect small businesses"
A lot of people are blaming Obummer for al sorts of things whether it is his fault or not, so why not jump on that band wagon, won't hurt anything.